Hey, hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Chaotic, but I do hope the rumors about the show returning weren't just a bunch of crap.

A Brief Respite

He screwed up.

That's what Tom was thinking when he realized he was face to face with the mystery creature of the Forest of Life.

The teen began mentally kicking himself for not thinking this plan through. He was going to find the mystery creature and then... well he didn't think about what would come next. She was still rumored to be unscannable, and he had no idea if she was hostile or if she was allied with enemies.

Had she captured him for Chaor to use against Maxxor? Or was she working with Von Bloot? Mudeenu? Illexia, as of the incident with Raznus? Several thoughts like this were running through his head.

After a minute of the two staring at each other, the demon like being wordlessly picked up a stick that rested next to her and stoked the fire a bit.

"... Sooo, you gonna sit there staring at me all day or...?", the she creature awkwardly asked as the flames perked up a bit.

... Okay, not what he was expecting her to say, but Tom remained tense regardless.

"... Kid, relax. I know I look scary, but I'm not gonna hurt you.", the she creature reassured as she set the stick back down.

"W-Why should I believe that?", Tom nervously asked once he found his voice.

"If I wanted to hurt you, we wouldn't even be talking right now.", Was her blunt answer.

Well, Tom couldn't argue that, but he remained wary of her regardless. She pretty much ignored his cautious gaze as she grabbed one of the skewers and tested the firmness of the fish. Feels like it was about done.

"... You should eat, you'll need the energy.", said the she creature before sinking her fangs into her cooked fish.

Tom looked down at the roasted fish, and couldn't help but cringe when he saw the jaws and bulging eyes on the aquatic creature.

"Erm, thanks but I'm good.", Tom politely declined, not even sure if he could even eat it without running the risk of food poisoning. The demonic looking creature shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, suit yourself.", she stated before tearing off another bite of her meal. "So, you got a name kid?", the she creature inquired.

"It's Tom. You?", Tom curtly answered.

"Phantom.", was her simple response.

Silence permeated the cave once more as Phantom munched on her cooked fish, and Tom was left with his thoughts. What happened when he fell unconscious? He remembered looking at a map of the forest on his scanner and then... nothing. He was pretty sure Phantom was the one who brought him to this cave, but for what purpose? He needed answers.

"So, where is this place? And why did you bring me here?", Tom asked, breaking the silence.

"I guess you could say this is my home. When I found you, I was planning to take you to the edge of the forest like all the others. But... things didn't exactly go according to plan, so I had to bring you back to my little hide out here.", Phantom explained after she finished her meal.

"What happened exactly?", Tom urged her to continue.

"Well, Right after I knocked you out, a tracker showed up, so I brought you back here.", she answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Tracker?", Was Tom's confused reply.

"Yes... There are... people searching for me... they have beasts that can track down those who escape from them... but I have no intention of letting them capture me.", Was Phantom's vague response. She still remembered the last person who tried to escape from the labs, they didn't get far and were brought back as a bloody mess with multiple broken limbs.

"But if they were after you, why bother with me at all?", Tom asked, not sure what to make of all this.

Phantom went quiet for a moment, as if she was trying to choose her words carefully.

"... I brought you here, because I was trying to protect you. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say I was stuck in a very bad place with a lot of very bad people for very long time... If that tracker had captured me, odds are she would have taken you to the same place I escaped from... ", She said with a distant look on her face. She knew the fate of every child that wound up at the lab, and didn't want that for this kid.

"Oh...", Was all Tom could say. He didn't know what think about the she creature, but from the tone of her voice, it sounded like she truly was trying to keep him safe. At the very least, Tom could conclude that she wasn't hostile, for now anyway. Phantom brought one of her wings to her line of sight and began inspecting it. It looked like she was analyzing a wound that was in the process of healing.

"Looks like it's healing alright...", Phantom muttered to herself as she looked over the bullet wounds on her wings. Those damn mercenaries really did a number on her if the injuries were taking this long to heal.

Tom figured he should call his friends and let them know he was Okay, they were probably wondering where he disappeared too. Reaching around to his back pocket, he felt around for his scanner, but found nothing. He froze momentarily, then checked his other pocket, then began patting himself down. Then a terrifying realization dawned on him.

"Oh no.", Tom squeaked out as his heart skipped a few beats.

"What's wrong?", Phantom asked, looking away from inspecting her wing.

"My scanner is missing! I must've dropped it somewhere!", Tom said a bit frantically. He took a breath to calm himself, maybe Phantom picked it up when she found him.

"The Hell's a scanner?", Phantom asked with a raised brow.

Okay, not what he was hoping to hear. But no need to panic, not all the creatures of Perim knew what a scanner was. Phantom probably left it not knowing what it was, Maybe she can help him find it.

"Well, it's a small rectangular device, and I can use it get around Perim, call my friends and scan creatures like Overworlders.", Tom explained.

"... The hell are Overworlders?", Phantom asked with a head tilt, only looking more confused.

Wait, what.

"Y'know, Overworlders? The tribe that presides in the Overworld? They're led by Maxxor? They're constantly going toe to toe with the Underworlders?", Tom tried to clarify, but was met with only more confusion.

"... The hell are Underworlders?", Phantom continued with a look of confused annoyance.

Wait, What!?

"... Underworlders? The tribe that lives in, y'know, the Underworld?! They're led by Chaor?!", Tom gave an exhausted sigh, "I mean, aren't you an Underworlder?". Phantom just gave him a blank stare.

"... Kid, you're saying these things like you expect me to know what the hell you're talking about and you've completely lost me.", Phantom deadpanned.

"So wait, do you really know nothing about Perim?", Tom asked incredulously. Even creatures in the most remote regions of Perim at least know of the four tribes.

"No? What the hell is Perim?", Phantom asked blankly. Every time this kid answered her questions, she only got more confused and it was starting to annoy her.

... WAIT, WHAT!?

"Okay, I never thought I'd be doing this, but I'm gonna have to give you a rundown on Perim and Chaotic.", Tom said after a few moments. Who would've thought he would be the one to explain Perim to a creature?

~one long explanation later~

"Ok, So let me see if I got this right. You're telling me that this world is called Perim, and there are 4 tribes of creatures that are constantly fighting with each other over something called the coti, the carthi- something", Phantom struggled to remember the thing that Tom mentioned as she was still processing all this information.

"The Cothica.", Tom corrected.

"Right, that thing. Meanwhile, humans that play this game called Chaotic receive a code that lets them visit not only Perim but also a place that allows players to become creatures and fight it out in these virtual megadome things.", Phantom continued.

"Pretty much.", Tom put it bluntly.

The cave was silent once again as Phantom tried to process everything Tom just told her. There was a lot to unpack to say the least.

"... I thought I wound up on some remote tropical rainforest or something... turns out this isn't even Earth... that would explain the lack of monkeys and jaguars now that I think about it.", She muttered to herself. She looked a little mind blown to say the least.

"Wait, how do you know about Earth?", Tom inquired. Most creatures in Perim knew next to nothing about Earth. But here he was face to face with a creature who knew almost nothing about Perim, but she could name some of the animals on Earth.

"... Because I'm from there?", Phantom stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Now it was Tom's turn to be mind blown.

... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

"... What?", the she creature asked after 20 seconds of Tom staring at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean you're from Earth?!", Tom exclaimed.

"I mean, I'm from the planet Earth. I literally can't make it any more clear than that.", Phantom repeated with a pinch of snark.

Tom just looked at her, waiting for further explanation. The she creature gave a heavy sigh.

"... Look, it's a long story, and I really don't want to get into it right now. And before you ask why, it's because it's really hard for me to talk about without having a complete mental breakdown.", Phantom clarified. She wasn't ready to start talking about her past yet, and it was difficult to say if she ever would be.

"... The place you escaped from was really that bad?", Tom asked, confusion melting away into concern.

"Yeah...", was Phantom's quiet reply.

Tom decided to let the subject drop, and silence filled the cave once more. Phantom grabbed a second fish that was cooking by the fire and took a large bite out of it, leaving the third one for Tom in case he changed his mind. After a few minutes, Tom decided to break the silence again.

"How did you not even realize that this wasn't Earth?", Tom asked, still shocked that the she creature before him was actually from his home planet.

"Well the past few weeks I was too busy focusing on surviving out here. When you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a massive forest or jungle, the last thing you're thinking about is wether or not you're on the same planet.", Phantom replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"... Ok, fair enough.", Tom relented.

A few more moments of silence pass.

"So, you said your scanner lets you warp around this world?", Phantom inquired.

"Yeah, it lets me Port around Perim as long as I have a scan of the location I want to visit. I also need it in order to return to Chaotic", Tom elaborated.

"How sturdy would you say your scanner is?", the she creature asked.

"Uh, pretty sturdy, nearly indestructible actually.", Tom admitted. Now that he thought about it, the scanners were pretty tough, though it only made sense considering how volatile some regions in Perim could be.

"Hmm... I'll help you look for it, but it'll have to wait for now.", Phantom said as she stretched out her limbs.

"What? Why?", The teen asked.

"Kid, I don't know if you realized this, but it's raining pretty hard. Don't want you to get sick before we even find the damn thing.", Phantom stated, using her tail to part the leaf curtain, revealing the rain that was pouring down in buckets.

"But my scan-", Tom started before Phantom cut him off.

"We'll look for your scanner when it stops raining. If it's as sturdy as you say it is, then it'll be fine. In the meantime, why don't we just hang here and shoot the breeze? It's gonna be a while before the rain stops anyway.", Phantom suggested.

After giving it some thought, Tom figured he was better off waiting. His scanner was small and blended in with the forest due to its blue color. And with how hard the rain was coming down, it was going to be harder to see with limited visibility.

"Well, Alright I guess. Anything in particular you want to talk about?", the teen inquired.

"Why don't ya tell me a little more about what goes on in this Chaotic place?", Phantom asked. She will admit she was curious about these Drome matches he mentioned earlier.

Tom smiled a little, "Oh man, where do I begin?".

Over the next few hours, the two just continued to talk about whatever came to mind. Tom would talk about the many Drome matches he's competed in while Phantom would just listen attentively, even if she no idea what he was talking about. The she creature didn't talk much about her life before arriving in Perim, but she did tell Tom a few stories about her initial fumbles when she first arrived in this forest.

Eventually the sun had set and the night had taken over, but the rain continued to bear down on the forest.

"Damn, it's still coming down out there. Get cozy kid, most likely this rain is gonna last the rest of the night.", Phantom stated as she threw some more dry wood into the fire. She hadn't lived in the forest for long, but long enough to know the rains tended to last a while.

"Yeah, that's not surprising... So, Phantom...", Tom began.

"Hm?", Phantom looked at him once she finished stoking the flames.

"I was wondering, Why were you knocking Chaotic Players out anyway?", the raven haired teen inquired.

"Truth be told, the first time it happened I Uh... kind of panicked.", was Phantom's sheepish answer.

"... Seriously?", Tom said, dumbfounded.

"I was just minding my own business trying get some fruit when I saw some kid wandering around. He was getting closer to where I was hiding and I just reacted. Next thing I know, I'm carrying the kid's unconscious body to the edge of the forest thinking his parents or someone was gonna find him. Then after that, more kids started showing up, and I didn't want anyone finding out where I lived, so I just kept doing it. I just wanted to be left alone.", the she creature clarified.

"Not to mention I didn't want word to get back to that damn place...", Phantom added to herself. Of course that was her reasoning before she realized she was on another planet entirely.

"I guess that makes sense.", Tom thought out loud, thinking back to what Kaz and Sarah said about creatures wanting their privacy.

"... You know," Phantom started, getting Tom's attention, "You remind me of someone I used to know..."

"Really? Who?", the raven haired teen inquired.

"He is...", Phantom trailed off for a moment, "Rather, he was my best friend... Probably the only friend I ever had...".

"... What was he like?", Tom pressed.

"... He was the kindest soul I ever knew, a ray of hope that dared to shine in a place of complete darkness. He had the most beautiful eyes too, always shining with hope and innocence. Whenever I had a particularly rough day, his bright smile was enough to make me feel a little better. He was always there to cheer me up after a brutal day...", Phantom answered in a quiet voice.

"He sounds like a nice guy.", Tom commented.

"He was... Before I met him, I was pretty much alone most of the time, but that changed quickly when he came into the picture. He pretty much introduced himself like it was the first day of school and he had found a new friend. I will admit, I pretty much ignored him for the first few weeks, but he was persistent. Next thing I knew, we would be talking for hours whenever we were in our cells. The place we were trapped in was a living nightmare, But his soul shone so brightly despite this. I did everything in my power to protect that light... We even promised each other that we would escape together one day.", Phantom answered, a fond smile gracing her lips.

Why was she telling all this to some kid she's only known for a few hours? Who knows? Maybe she missed having someone to talk to...

"Sounds like you two really cared about each other.", Tom noted.

"Yeah... we did..." Phantom replied, But moments later, her smile fell from her face.

"But then one day, I woke up in my cell and he was just... gone. And I was alone again...", the she creature continued, wrapping her wings around her body like a hug.

The atmosphere in the cave suddenly felt heavy.

"...What... what happened to him?", Tom cautiously asked.

"... I'm not ready to talk about that kid, makes me too sad...", Phantom replied, her voice heavy with sorrow.

"... I'm sorry...", Tom consoled.

"Don't worry about it, this happened years ago...", the she creature reassured.

Silence fills the cave once more.

"... Are... Are you gonna be... Okay?", Tom questioned, concern evident in his voice.

Phantom chose not to answer, mostly because she wasn't sure herself. Truth be told, she and Okay parted ways long ago.

"... Get some sleep kid, we'll look for your scanner in the morning...", the She creature said after several moments of silence.

Seeing as Phantom no longer felt like talking, Tom decided to lay down on the bed of foliage. It was about as comfortable as one would expect a nest of leaves to be, but it still beat sleeping on the rocky ground.

"... Hey Phantom?", Tom called.

The she creature looked at him.

"For what it's worth, I think your friend would've been happy just knowing you escaped... just thought you might want to hear that.", Tom encouraged. He may not know what she's lived through, but he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he lost his best Friend Kaz.

"... Thanks Tom...", Phantom replied with a small smile.

Time passed as the night wore on. Tom was fast asleep, but Phantom was still awake, keeping watch. She found herself staring into the flames at some point.

There was something hypnotic about watching the fire dance along with the sound of the rainfall, and before long Phantom felt her body start to relax. It was hard to say how much time had passed, but her eyes gradually started to feel heavy, and It wasn't long before Phantom drifted off into the realm of slumber.

~Dream, Phantom's POV~

Phantom...

Alone in a cell before me was a young boy. His hair was a fiery red, his skin a sun kissed tan, and his eyes... his eyes were a striking gold, so bright and shining that they could rival the light of day.

He looked at me and smiled. His smile was so full of hope, so full of light despite the abysmal place we were trapped in.

I wanted nothing more than to protect that smile...

Why...

The boy was older now, about twelve or so. I've lost track of the years by now...

Two armed guards just brought him back and threw him into the cell. The guards laughed it up while they walked away, the bastards. For a while he just laid there, unmoving, staring into nothingness. He eventually sat up and looked at me...

The experiments must've been particularly rough today...

Why didn't you protect me?

He smiled at me once more, but this time, it was forced. His eyes were missing that familiar spark that I had grown so fond of...

Something was wrong...

Why didn't you save me?

A rope descended from the darkness above, and at the end of the rope was a noose wrapped tightly around the boy's neck. Those golden eyes that were once so bright and full of life, now stared into my own, empty and hollow. As his body dangled limply before me, I could feel the pain of my regrets eating away at my heart.

Please forgive me my friend, there's nothing I regret more than failing to protect you...

WhY dId YoU lEt ThEm HuRt Me!?

Suddenly I felt icy cold hands grasping my shoulders, and was face to face with the empty gaze of those dead eyes. His neck was broken, his skin gray and rotting as maggots ate away at his dead flesh. His mouth suddenly opened wide and an unholy screech erupted from him.

I awoke with a start. My eyes snapped open and frantically darted around my surroundings as I panted heavily. No prison cell, just a cave. No armed guards, just me and the kid.

And, thankfully, no dead bodies hanging from the ceiling...

"Another nightmare... shit.", I quietly muttered to myself as I ran a hand through my hair. I was no stranger to nightmares and night terrors, hell I lived in one for most of my life! But even though I managed to break away from that hellish lab, my memories of that dark place were insistent on haunting my dreams...

I drew a long sigh before taking another, more calm look around the cave. Tom appeared to still be asleep and the fire had pretty much died out. It was also silent, so the rain must have stopped at some point. Pulling the leaf curtain back a bit, I could see that it was barely light out, so it was very early in the morning. When had I even fallen asleep?

An angry rumble erupted from my stomach, and a thought occurred to me. When was the last time the kid ate anyway? He didn't have any of the fish last night, so he's gotta be starving by now.

Maybe he doesn't like fish? Perhaps some fruit would be a better option? Either way, he won't get very far looking for his... scan thing on an empty stomach.

With that thought in mind, I get up and step out of my hideout, stretching out my stiff limbs and wings in the process. Looking at the sky, I could see I was correct in my assumption, the sun wasn't quite up yet. If I hurried, I might be able to watch the sunrise.

Now, where did I see those fruit trees again?

~30 minutes later~

It was strange, ever since I first woke up in the forest, I have felt... welcomed was probably the word for it. I wasn't sure of it myself but it felt like the Forest was... alive in a sense. Like, I felt as though it had... accepted me? It was difficult to explain really.

But I won't pretend to understand what was going on, I'm just glad to be away from those heartless bastards.

In any case, the sun was starting to rise a bit higher now, filling the sky with more light. Ah, and there's the tree I was looking for, a massive, towering red tree like an oak with bright blue leafage bearing round purple fruits.

Leaping onto the tree, I sunk my claws into the bark and climbed my way towards the top. I found that the fruits towards the tree tops were always more flavorful for some reason.

Once I made it to the higher branches, I took a moment to admire the colorful morning sky that accompanied the sunrise. The first time I saw it was when I first woke up in this forest, and it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Not just because it was the first time I had seen the light of day in literal years.

It was because, after so many long, torturous years, I was finally free. I remember the surprise that followed as I cried tears of joy, when I thought I had no more tears left.

But as much as I wanted to keep reminiscing, I had a task at hand. Carefully navigating the branches, I started examining the fruits available, making sure only to pick the ones that were ready. As I learned from my experience, a floral smell meant the fruit was ripe and sweet, no scent meant it would be extremely bitter.

Once I gathered enough of the purple fruits, I looked towards the ground and began to debate how to get down. Maybe I can glide my way down and hopefully not crash into anything? Even though I now know I'm on another planet entirely, I can't help but think the organization's trackers were going to hunt me down. I was probably just being paranoid, but still, doesn't hurt to be prepared for a quick escape.

And for that, I need flight practice.

"Well, I'm already up here, might as well give it a whirl.", I said aloud after talking myself into it. Clutching the fruits to my body, I amped myself up, and pushed myself forward in a leap of faith.

Spreading my wings, I quickly brought myself into a glide and gradually made my way to the ground. The landing, however, was another story. As the ground came closer, I tried to slow myself, but ultimately ended up crashing into a bush.

Again.

I let out an annoyed sigh, And pulled myself out from the bush and shook off the twigs and leaves that were stuck to me.

"Still need to work on the landing.", I chided to myself as i folded my wings against my back. I know how to fly, but because it doesn't come naturally to me, I tend to struggle with it. That's not to say that I'm bad at it, I'm just lacking in experience. I could glide for a while if I got some wind under my wings, but...

Landing while gliding was tricky due to how fast I moved, and I can really only manage to fly for a few minutes before I tire out. Not to mention that I haven't figured out how to turn mid flight yet...

Who would've thought that it was only by a major rush of adrenaline that I managed to escape the facility? I cast the thought aside, all that matters is that I'm here now.

I gathered up the fruit, which thankfully didn't get crushed in the landing, and began to walk back to the hideout.

But as I was walking along, I suddenly felt a chill running down my spine and froze in my tracks. It felt like I was being watched. Glaring at the area around me, I tried to pinpoint the source of the feeling, but found nothing. Despite this the feeling of being watched persisted.

Deciding not to risk it, I willed the darkness to envelop my form and dove into the shadows of the forest. As I darted back to the hideout from the shades, some of my paranoid thoughts started bubbling towards the surface. I wasn't sure if it was a tracker or something else, but I didn't want it following me back to my home. Not if it meant putting the kid in danger...

I won't let him suffer the same fate as Kalil...

Let me know what you thought in the reviews~

Btw, Intress is the one who Phantom thought was a tracker.